MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Despite holding the lead for two-thirds of Tuesday's tilt against Muskingum University, the Allegheny College men's basketball team fell short of an upset in a 93-82 loss to the Fighting Muskies inside the David V. Wise Center.

In the final home game of 2025, the Gators (2-6) led by as many as six points in the first half. After Muskingum (9-1) tied the score at 52-all early in the second half, the Blue and Gold went on a 12-4 run and grabbed their largest lead of the night at 64-56. Senior James Sitter (Erie, Pa./Fairview) helped fuel the rally with several key plays, including two 3-point field goals, a block to deny J'Allen Barrino, and a steal on a pass underneath the Muskingum basket that led to a quick two points from senior Ryan Lang (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) on the other end of the court.

Allegheny's momentum, however, began to erode over the course of the last 12-and-a-half minutes. Although it was a competitive, back-and-forth matchup for much of the night, miscues, empty possessions, and fouls against the Gators quickly snowballed into a 37-18 run for the Muskies for the remainder of the contest.

With 11 of the following 13 points, the Muskies – who received votes in the most recent edition of the D3hoops.com national rankings – earned their first lead of the second half at 67-66. With just under eight minutes left, Pijus Latauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania/Kiski Prep (Pa.)) spun through the lane and dropped a left-handed shot into the net to give the Gators their last lead at 71-70. But coming out of a timeout, Muskingum responded with a Terrell Darden 3-pointer, then intercepted a pass and scored a fastbreak layup to jump ahead 75-71. The next two Gator possessions also ended with turnovers, as Allegheny was held without a point for the next three-and-a-half minutes. The Muskies all but sealed the win with a pair of and-one conversions in the last three-plus minutes of regulation.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny shot 58.3% overall (28-of-48) and 56.5% from 3-point range (13-of-23).
• Muskingum made 51.4% of its attempts (36-of-70) and 44.0% of its 3-pointers (11-of-25).
• Turnovers proved costly for the Gators, as the Fighting Muskies turned 17 Gator turnovers into 29 points.
• The Gators finished with more assists (20-to-14) and blocks (5-to-3).
• Rebounds were nearly equal, as the Muskies logged 30 to Allegheny's 29.
• Latauskas paced all scorers with 26 points on 9-of-12 (75.0%) shooting.
• Sitter earned a double-double with 18 points, all of which came on 3-point buckets, and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Lang also reached double figures with 13 points to go along with a game-best six assists.
• Junior guard Jayson Perry (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) scored eight points with five assists, two blocks, two steals, and one rebound.
• Six Muskies logged double-digit points, led by Owin Emig with 19 and Barrino with 16.

News and Notes

• Allegheny and Muskingum met for just the fourth time since 1928.
• The Gators and Fighting Muskies are now tied at 2-2 in the all-time series.
• Allegheny's offense tied a season high with 82 points, while the team's 58.3 field-goal percentage and 13 treys were both season bests.
• Allegheny's 58.3 field-goal percentage marks its best since posting an identical rate in a 97-74 win over Chatham University on February 8, 2023.
• Sitter's six 3-pointers tied a career high and were just two shy of the program single-game record.
• Sitter's double-double is the second of his collegiate career.
• Latauskas surpassed the 20-point mark for the second time in his last three games.

Up Next
Allegheny concludes the first half of the season at Carnegie Mellon University on Thursday, December 18, at 4 p.m.